An association of thousands of FBI agents is backing a lawsuit filed by three bureau employees who were fired for their roles in an investigation into President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss, with additional support from multiple legal and civil rights groups.
The three agents — Michelle Ball, Jamie Garman, and Blaire Toleman — were fired in October and November 2025 and are suing FBI Director Kash Patel and Attorney General Pam Bondi, claiming their terminations violated their First and Fifth Amendment rights. The agents worked on “Arctic Frost,” the code name for the investigation that led to special counsel Jack Smith’s 2023 indictment of Trump on charges related to his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
The FBI Agents Association, a nonprofit organization representing thousands of agents, filed an amicus brief supporting the lawsuit. A legal brief by the FBI Agents Association is one of five amicus briefs filed in the case, demonstrating broad backing from legal and civil rights organizations for the agents’ constitutional claims.
The agents say they were fired without investigation, notice of charges, or an opportunity to respond. “Serving the American people as FBI agents was the highest honor of our lives,” they said in a statement. “We took an oath to uphold the Constitution, followed the facts wherever they led and never compromised our integrity. Our removal from federal service — without due process and based on a false perception of political bias — is a profound injustice that raises serious concerns about political interference in federal law enforcement.”
Patel has fired dozens of agents over the past year, either because of their involvement in investigations related to Trump or because they were perceived as insufficiently loyal to the Republican president’s agenda. The lawsuit notes that the firings followed the release by Senator Chuck Grassley of documents about the Arctic Frost investigation that he said came from within the FBI. Those records included files showing that Smith’s team had subpoenaed phone records of some Republican lawmakers.
The lawsuit seeks reinstatement of the three agents and a court declaration that their rights were violated. It also requests class action status, which could allow at least 50 other agents terminated since January 20, 2025, to recover their jobs if the case succeeds. Other fired employees have sued as well, including agents photographed kneeling during a racial justice protest in 2020 and an agent trainee who displayed an LGBTQ+ flag at his workspace.
Dan Eisenberg, a lawyer for the agents, said the lawsuit seeks to “reaffirm fundamental constitutional protections for FBI employees, ensuring they can perform their duties without fear or favor.” Patel and Bondi have said the fired agents and prosecutors who worked on Smith’s team were responsible for weaponizing federal law enforcement, a claim the plaintiffs call baseless.
The case was filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on March 19, 2026, and the government has requested a briefing schedule on its motion to dismiss the case, with proceedings expected to conclude in mid-August 2026.
Sources
- Associated Press — reported on August 4, 2026, that an association of thousands of FBI agents and other groups are backing the lawsuit, with five amicus briefs filed in support
- PBS News — provided details on the three fired agents (Michelle Ball, Jamie Garman, Blaire Toleman), their roles in Arctic Frost, and the class action lawsuit filed March 31, 2026
- NBC News — reported on the agents’ claims that firings violated First and Fifth Amendment rights, with details on the Arctic Frost investigation and special counsel Jack Smith’s indictment
- Campaign Legal Center — documented an amicus brief filed by First Amendment scholars on July 29, 2026, explaining why government firing of agents for perceived political disloyalty is unconstitutional
